Michael Connan Johnson (born November 26, 1962) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

for ten seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL), primarily with the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the Virginia Tech Hokies. Johnson began his pro career in the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL) for the

Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars The Philadelphia / Baltimore Stars were a professional American football team which played in the United States Football League (USFL) in the mid-1980s. Owned by real-estate magnate Myles Tanenbaum, they were the short-lived league's dominant ...

for two seasons.

Early years

Johnson attended DeMatha Catholic High School. He was recruited by coach Billy Hite to play football at Virginia Tech. He was an architecture major during his tenure during college. He was an Academic All-American in 1982. His career was largely overshadowed by that of Bruce Smith during his college career. The Hokies went 31-14 during his career, but due to the time period in which they played, had to settle for only one bowl game. Despite never playing in the ACC, he was chosen to the 2011 ACC Legends team. His accomplishments at Tech earned him a spot in the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Johnson was selected by the Pittsburgh Maulers in the 1984 USFL Territorial Draft. He also was selected by the

in the 1st round (18th overall) of the 1984 NFL Supplemental Draft of USFL and CFL Players. He was traded to the Philadelphia Stars, where he played the

1984 USFL season The 1984 USFL season was the second season of the United States Football League. Rule changes * The USFL added the side judge to the game officials, making a seven-man crew. * Teams played preseason games in 1984. There had been no preseason ...

. The team moved to Baltimore for the

1985 USFL season The 1985 USFL season was the third and final season of the United States Football League (USFL), and the last by a league using that name until the 2022 USFL season. Rule changes Adopted instant replay for the 1985 season. Under the instant-re ...

. In 1986, he joined the NFL after the USFL folded. He played his first three years in the NFL in a 3-4 defense. It wasn't until 1989 that the Browns then switched up to the more traditional 4-3 defense, at which Johnson started at middle linebacker until 1993. He made two trips to the Pro Bowl in 1989 and 1990, the latter in which he was an injury replacement. He was voted to the All-Pro team after the 1989 season. Mike has been voted by The Plain Dealer to the top 100 Browns of all-time at No. 69.

Personal life

Johnson played high school football at DeMatha High school in Hyattsville, Maryland. He graduated in the top 15% of his high school class. Johnson is the brother-in-law of former

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

guard

Nate Newton Nathaniel Isaac Newton (born December 20, 1961) is an American former professional football player who was a guard in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Carolina Panthers. He also was a member of the Tampa Bay Bandit ...

, and uncle of

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and ...

running back Tre' Newton.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Mike 1962 births Living people American football linebackers DeMatha Catholic High School alumni Cleveland Browns players Detroit Lions players American Conference Pro Bowl players Virginia Tech Hokies football players Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars players People from Southport, North Carolina Sportspeople from Brunswick County, North Carolina